Popular secondary school lad shot dead by a twisted Craigslist killer following row over a second-hand Playstation

Brian Brown, 19, was shot three times in back in sale gone wrong just 17 days before football player was due to start uni

By Joshua Rhett Miller for the New York Post

20th June 2017, 10:51 pm

Updated: 21st June 2017, 2:34 am

A STAR athlete in Florida who was just weeks away from starting a university football scholarship in California was gunned down last week while trying to sell his Playstation and games on Craigslist, according to police.

Brian Brown, 19, was shot three times in the back on Wednesday at an intersection in North Miami Beach during a Craigslist transaction just after 3pm local time.

North Miami Beach Senior High School

Brian Brown was shot three times in the back by killer who is still on the loose

Police said Brown was shot by an unidentified black male during an argument that erupted during the buy.

The suspect fled on foot and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday, Miami-Dade Police Detective Robin Pinkard told the New York Post.

Brown, who graduated from North Miami Beach Senior High School just a week earlier, died the following day at a hospital, Pinkard said.

Google Maps

The teenager had graduated from North Miami Beach Senior High School, pictured, just one week before being killed

Investigators are trying to interview residents near the shooting in hopes of identifying the suspect.

Brown’s father told WPLG his son had received a full scholarship to play football at Merced College in California and recently went shopping for furniture for his dorm room.

The defensive standout was due to leave for the community university in Northern California on 1 July — just 17 days after the fatal shooting.

“He was getting ready for it, staying in shape, and everyone, his teammates, friends, everyone was talking about it,” Craig Brown told the station.

“He was ready to go.”

Craig Brown said his son, the youngest of the family’s four children, was a docile soul despite being a beast on the football field, where the 18.5stone standout played defensive end and fullback, according to Hudl.com.

“Happy, always smiling, a friend to everyone,” he said of the teen.

“Everyone who knew him, I can say at least 200 to 300 people have come here to hug me and told me what a great kid he was, and how much love he just had for everyone.

"[He] wouldn’t hurt a fly, wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

I don’t know how I’m going to live without Brian

Mum Landcy Brown

Bob Casey, head football coach at Merced College, said he had been looking forward to adding Brown to his team.

“Mr. Brown had a bright future as a student-athlete and we were excited for him to be a part of our program,” Casey told the station.

“His passing has left us all stunned and we can do nothing, but pray for his family.”

Brown’s mother, meanwhile, said the pain of losing her youngest child was unbearable.